Pompey (A)

[Ani]

IMO he got the subs wrong. Thomason after the booking was walking a tight rope, could have gone sooner, but more than that Sheehan was not involved at all. 
Maghoma was a threat , less in the 2nd half but Dempsey and Morley for Sheehan and Thomason seemed obvious. Not sure Iredale for Williams when chasing a game is a good idea.

But as disappointing as last night was we are 2nd with a game in hand, so no need for wholesale changes just get back on the wagon and roll.

[woolli]

Better team won on the night. Charles miss could have been a game changer. Two winnable home games now, win them, and we are back on track.

[captainmed]

1 hour ago, radcliffe white said:

Can’t be bothered going over it

its only a game and I’m hung over😀

Nothing worse than being stuck at the other end of the country & hung over after losing.

I still remember the 4-0 down there & vomiting all the way home on a packed train.

[Farrelli]

54 minutes ago, Ani said:

IMO he got the subs wrong. Thomason after the booking was walking a tight rope, could have gone sooner, but more than that Sheehan was not involved at all. 
Maghoma was a threat , less in the 2nd half but Dempsey and Morley for Sheehan and Thomason seemed obvious. Not sure Iredale for Williams when chasing a game is a good idea.

But as disappointing as last night was we are 2nd with a game in hand, so no need for wholesale changes just get back on the wagon and roll.

Agree. No need to panic. Disappointing performance but onto the next game and hopefully get back to winning ways. 

[radcliffe white]

11 minutes ago, captainmed said:

Nothing worse than being stuck at the other end of the country & hung over after losing.

I still remember the 4-0 down there & vomiting all the way home on a packed train.

Absolutely, currently in spoons getting breakfast trying to muster some energy for the slog back 

[L/H White]

1 minute ago, radcliffe white said:

Absolutely, currently in spoons getting breakfast trying to muster some energy for the slog back 

that's gonna make you feel worse

[Lostock Whites]

Funnily enough, home match Vs Ipswich last season, we were 1-0 down, Dion misses a penalty and end up losing 2-0.

Don't want to solely blame Dion, but there have been plenty of games against big teams in the division in the past 2 seasons where we have missed big chances and been punished.

Regarding Pompey last night, I don't want to take anything away from their press, but didn't Oxford press us too?

Pompey were much better than Oxford imo but both press high up the pitch and both at home. Yet against Oxford we dealt with it comfortably.

I think the occasion got to us yesterday.

We have mentality issue in the squad still, in which like Evatt says, unfortunately shows that it's still here.

[Piemon]

Reading these replies from those still down there makes the me feel better about coming home straight after the game last night. 😀

I see the usual suspects on Facebook/Twitter are back in negative mode as soon as we lose a game ffs!!

Last night won't define our season. We lost away to top of the league and deservedly so.  Players still got a warm round of applause from the travelling fans after the game. 

Hopefully we will bounce back on Saturday.

[Ani]

20 minutes ago, Lostock Whites said:

Funnily enough, home match Vs Ipswich last season, we were 1-0 down, Dion misses a penalty and end up losing 2-0.

Don't want to solely blame Dion, but there have been plenty of games against big teams in the division in the past 2 seasons where we have missed big chances and been punished.

Regarding Pompey last night, I don't want to take anything away from their press, but didn't Oxford press us too?

Pompey were much better than Oxford imo but both press high up the pitch and both at home. Yet against Oxford we dealt with it comfortably.

I think the occasion got to us yesterday.

We have mentality issue in the squad still, in which like Evatt says, unfortunately shows that it's still here.

I think the difference you are missing v Oxford is we never went a goal behind. That goal changes everything. Our midfield could not get on the ball. For first 15 minutes we played round/through them really well, loads of space attacking down our right. Also the fact their lad up front had a right game against Santos meant they could get support up there knowing there was a chance it could break to them. 
 

They say goals change games especially from a set piece just before half time. 

[gonzo]

Im more pissed off we didnt beat Oxford than that last night.

[Tonge moor green jacket]

12 hours ago, Casino said:

Whats your issue with ashworth?

Has nobody learned anything from GTs improvement

Fuck me, im not sure ive seen him play a full game!

Quite.

Had an injury, and also having to work his way in.

To describe him as not good enough, is ridiculous. 

As you say, we may be looking to develop him for later, but until we see him we don't know.

[radcliffe white]

I’d be tempted to play jones instead of cogley and slot Forrester in against Bristol 

[Bertie]

Wonder if Bradley is nearing match fitness and we could get him back on loan from Liverpool in January?  They say never go back but would make an exception here to get us a top quality RWB for the second half of the season.

[L/H White]

have we not moved on from bradley ffs

he's been injured all season, and he's been put straight on the bench, he'll be playing for the reds this season, he isn't coming back to league 1

move on

[Tonge moor green jacket]

I agree with Evatt's comments.

At one time, iirc, he didn't particularly accept that we struggled against physicality. Now he rightly accepts that we did, and although we have improved, there is still an issue. 

Given that the personnel won't change before January, and probably not much then, will he be prepared to adapt the formation or change personnel to deliberately toughen us up defensively, even at the expense of some possession and attacking threat?

I don't think he will.

To revisit my pre match point about the midfield; I felt both Sheehan and Maghoma was perhaps a luxury too far for that particular game.

Personally, if I was in his shoes I would change the personnel for such a game, but it's all about opinions and he has to do what he sees fit. It's ultimately how he will be judged.

 

[Cheese]

4 minutes ago, Tonge moor green jacket said:

Given that the personnel won't change before January, and probably not much then, will he be prepared to adapt the formation or change personnel to deliberately toughen us up defensively, even at the expense of some possession and attacking threat?

I don't think he will.

Nor should he. Blows my mind what a loss does to people sometimes. 11 games unbeaten, breaking and equalling century-old club records, but we lose Away to top of the League and suddenly our wingbacks are shite and we need to change formation/tactics etc. Absolute madness.

Edited December 12, 2023 by Cheese

[Tonge moor green jacket]

1 minute ago, Cheese said:

Nor should he. Blows my mind what loss does to people sometimes. 11 games unbeaten, breaking and equalling century old club records, but suddenly our wingbacks are shite and we need to change formation/tactics etc. Absolute madness.

Oh I agree. Too much negativity. 

My point is more about Evatt seeing there is still an issue and whether he would make a subtle change, purely for one game, to account for it.

Clearly, he felt we'd gone beyond that and that's fair enough, but would he do it at another game, away from home against a very physical team?

It is ultimately his responsibility for the personnel and the team, so one way or another he will have to sort it.

It may well be that we succeed against other teams, and it doesn't matter in the long run.

Opposition managers will have seen that though and will be considering their approach, so they will all need to be ready for it.

Fwiw, I think that we just need to get out of the division, and then we can look to get the necessary bodies in for the next league. We don't need to have a squad now that can immediately do good things in the championship. 

[Tonge moor green jacket]

I would add that Evatt did make a subtle change to account for the opposition's style not too long ago, so he is prepared to do it. (Might have been Wycombe).

Sir Alex Ferguson wasn't averse to doing similar, irrespective of how good he and they were.

I think he got a surprise, and maybe we're not where he thought we were.

He sounded really pissed off, but I'm sure he'll sort them.

 

[Casino]

theres all sorts of chat, but key point for me, is they had a striker, who, even if he didnt beat santos he gave him a proper fight

let santos play and you can probably just concede the game

fortunately, there wont be many capable of doing what yon mon did last night

[Tonge moor green jacket]

2 minutes ago, Casino said:

theres all sorts of chat, but key point for me, is they had a striker, who, even if he didnt beat santos he gave him a proper fight

let santos play and you can probably just concede the game

fortunately, there wont be many capable of doing what yon mon did last night

Indeed.

I'd ask the question I asked earlier in the season. 

Do folk think we have the squad to get up directly?

Previously I felt we didn't, now I'm more positive and think we may well have.

May not be the best, but second will do.

[radcliffe white]

He has the squad to go up automatically for me, it’s how he goes about it

Good battling Santos & their lad if we go up he will have that on a regular basis 

[Casino]

i do think we have another problem in that ive a better left foot than toal, meaning we cant really go short to him either

at this level against teams where we are on the front foot, id always start jones, but tougher games, possibly find a way of getting toal on his stronger side

anyway, thats why we have evatt

 

[Ani]

4 minutes ago, Casino said:

i do think we have another problem in that ive a better left foot than toal, meaning we cant really go short to him either

at this level against teams where we are on the front foot, id always start jones, but tougher games, possibly find a way of getting toal on his stronger side

anyway, thats why we have evatt

 

Aye Declan John had a similar issue that if he ever got the ball facing backwards or came inside was lost.

Toal for all his attributes is not a left sided defender, if GJohnston was fit he would start and Toal/Gethin for right centre half with Gethin also an option at right wing back. 
 

Still not sure CMG fits in the system. He obviously has attributes but feels very Dapoish 

[waffer cup 07]

Pompey are a good side, who have been on a great run. No side goes through the season without a bad spell. There's will come. I think us and Pompey will be top 2, anyone could finish top.

[MickyD]

12 minutes ago, waffer cup 07 said:

Pompey are a good side, who have been on a great run. No side goes through the season without a bad spell. There's will come. I think us and Pompey will be top 2, anyone could finish top.

A perfect example played out last season. Plymouth and Ipswich top two pretty much all second half of season. Plymouth didn’t let their Wembley drubbing by us affect them.